Skip to main content
2026 AAC&U Annual Meeting Main banner
Final Program


PDF Program Schedule
Starred Sessions
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Educating for a Democracy in Question

Seminar

Tackling the Grand Challenge of Confidence in Higher Education: Examining Trust-in-Research Through Interdisciplinary Courses

Thursday, January 22, 2026
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Independence Salon B/C - Level M4

    Primary Presenter(s)

  • Korryn Mozisek, PhD (she/her/hers)

    Director of Integrative Learning, Office of the Vice Provost for Education
    Carnegie Mellon University
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

    PDF

    • Co-Presenter(s)

  • RB

    Richelle Bernazzoli

    Director of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development
    Carnegie Mellon University, United States

Seminar participation is limited to 25 people.

This interactive seminar will address declining public confidence in higher education, focusing on eroding trust-in-research. Drawing on Danielle Allen’s (2023) concept of "epistemic egalitarianism," we will argue that fostering students' ability to examine public mistrust in research through course-based projects equips them for informed democratic citizenship. We will highlight a first-year seminar where student teams investigated mistrust in research issues, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in student self-confidence related to information and data literacy (IDL) skills.

The session will guide participants through brainstorming courses, institutional competencies, learning outcomes, and assessment approaches to encourage epistemic egalitarianism and address issues of trust-in-research. As collaborators from different university roles and disciplinary backgrounds, we will illustrate how epistemic egalitarianism can be a course outcome without accusations of indoctrination and aid in reestablishing the value of higher education.